Smatt vs Matt

Smatt: I see no reason why they can’t. Cambridge and Brighton finished 2nd and 3rd behind them at Mixed Tour 2, and they beat them twice over the weekend. Cambridge will once again provide the toughest matchup. They should find moving the disc easier without the Nottingham wind to slow down their possession based 3-4 underneath cutting strategy. However they also found it tough to contain the Bear Cav hucking game at MT1 without wind and MT2 with the wind.

Matt: Yes of course they can, but that would be boring. So I’m going to predict Cambridge to beat Bears in a pulsating final, which will tear onlookers from the grasp of their mobiles as they check last-day Premier League scores. The fields of Cheltenham will be scattered with shrapnel of nails as the nerve-racking final moments of the football season and Mixed Tour come to an end simultaneously.

Who will make the biggest climb at MT3?

Smatt: If Bristol Mixed get back all their top players, I think they can regain most if not all of the 8 places they dropped at MT2. Despite the impressive work Cambridge 2 have done so far (improving 13 places over the two tours) I don’t see them breaking the top 12.

Therefore I think the highest climbers will be Bristol Mixed breaking back into the top 8, or Birmingham breaking into the top 16, though, after two tours there shouldn’t as much movement as team rankings should have pretty much sorted themselves out by now.Matt: Beast Mode – they’re massively under-seeded, smashed everyone at MT1

but didn’t play MT2 so got shafted again. Expect them to be making the seeders look silly by the end of the weekend.

Matt: I’m going to be bold and predict all three World’s teams will finish in the top four (and yes, that includes RGS, who slipped out of the top eight at Tour 2. They’ll come together in Cheltenham and will start to gel as a team and what I saw of the Ka-pow players at Tom’s Tourney, they look set to impress in Chelters.

Best game of pool play?

Smatt: My games to watch in the top 4 pools are:

Brighton Breezy v Black Eagles – this could be an exciting game full of big throws and athletic plays from both teams. Herd 1 v Meeples – A rematch of the heated quarter final from MT2 that brought Meeples their first top 4 finish ever and dashed the Herd’s chance at a second finals appearance of 2014. Dyn-O-Mixed v Pingu Jam – PJ are on the rise and should be full of confidence after an undefeated MT2 and will face a similarly constructed team in Dyn-O-Mixed. RGS v Bristol – RGS have to be winning this group to gain some momentum into their top 8 crossover, and ultimately towards the rest of their preparations for Worlds, but if Bristol have their strongest set of players then they are a potential top 4 team.

Matt: Looking down the list, the only one that stuck out to me was Bears v Eagles because it got me wondering: who would actually win in a battle between those two creatures?

Upset predictions?

Smatt: Whilst the smart money is on a Bear Cav v Cambridge final again, a Cambridge v Brighton Breezy has potential for a big upset. Another game with upset potential is the Dyn-O-Mixed crossover up into the top 12. In any cross up matchup they should feel they have a decent shot, even more so if they get Peeps or Scarecrew.

Matt: My upset prediction will be RGS to be playing in the 3/4 bracket come Sunday afternoon. I expect Dyn-O-Mixed to finish the mixed season strong and grab a top 8 finish. Rumours are circling that the mighty James Hobley will be making a shock comeback and make his debut this weekend – a remarkable turnaround after being told he should never throw a Frisbee in anger ever again after his antics at Glastonbury last autumn. Bristol Mixed will be back up challenging for a top place too after an under-strength team in Nottingham.

Which team will do the best karaoke after the Eurovision party?

Smatt: Hard to narrow it down with so many teams going, but I’m going to have to go for Scarecrew as they practice singing before every game.

Matt: Dyn-o-mixed, hands-down. I had the pleasure of sharing a room (not a

bed) with Maddox last week and if he can sing in real life as well ashe sings in his sleep, they’ll blow their competition away. And then they also have James Hobbley, who plays the violin in the orchestra every Sunday, so he’ll have an advantage over most at MT3. So the realquestion is: who’ll come second? And for that, I have no idea.

Can Meeples stay in the top 4?

Smatt: Based on the players they have, they definitely can, but I don’t think they will. I think their likely quarter finals matchup will be either Black Eagles or Brighton Breezy, and I don’t see Meeples coming out on top in either game, though they would both be fantastic quarter final matchups.Matt: I don’t know why people are surprised at the rise of Meeples and their top 4 finish in Nottingham. Maybe they’re just very good at playing in god-awful weather and with a heat wave predicted in Cheltenham, they’ll have to adopt an alternative style of play. But they have some star players returning to the team this weekend and I fully expect them to be challenging for top four. I expect Bristol mixed to challenge for top four too as they won’t struggle for top players wanting to make the short journey up the M5.

Smatt: Whilst I have a bit of personal bias from playing for Bear Cavalry, Mixed Tour 1 was fairly straightforward for us. Our closest game in terms of the score was the semi final against Cambridge Black. I fully expect Cambridge to once again be our toughest opposition, especially as they are combining their teams. They had two strong teams at MT1 and had some good results. Black lost to Black Eagles in pool play and Bear Cavalry in the semi but would finish in 3rd place, and White only lost to Cambridge Black in the quarter, going undefeated on Sunday to finish in 5th. Of all the teams in attendance, I think Cambridge have the best shot to steal a result from the Bears.

Matt: Yes. Cambridge will unite to create a stronger team and as we saw in the semi, if half their team can take 11 off Bears then their whole team definitely stand a chance of winning. If Bristol Mixed weren’t losing a lot of their Nice Bristols girls then they’d be a threat but I don’t think they’ll be able to compete this weekend. Thundering Herd will have confidence after their surprising final appearance but Bears have probably sussed out their main threats. RGS are still a new team and didn’t have a full training session last weekend so I can’t see them taking down Bears just yet.

Will RGS climb back into the top 4?

Smatt: With one tour under their belt, RGS have had some time to gel and work on connections. They will also have the 2014 debut of Richard ‘Macca’ Macleod to bolster their defence and generate some blocks and their Canadian Duo (Colin and Sam Green) to bring more firepower. I think they have the potential to climb into the top 4, but will face an uphill struggle to get there, winning their group will give them the best chance.

Matt: Yes. But mainly because rival teams are missing key players. Speaking to some of the team after tour one I think they went into games too relaxed and more or less expecting to win but struggled with nerves when they ended up in close battles. So Cardiff will have been a healthy shock to the system for the team. Come world’s, after 5 tournaments together, they should be a match for Bears.

Smatt: Game 1 of Saturday looks to feature the some great matchups with Bear Cavalry vs Brighton and the rematch of the MT1 pool play decider between RGS and the Herd. However, the 1:30 slot features the one to watch in pool play: Bear Cavalry vs Cambridge (with the Herd vs Bristol MT1 semi final rematch also happening in this slot)!

Further down the rankings, Jabba the Huck vs Shiny Happy Meeple should prove interesting a tight, highly contested, match-up in the race for a crossover into the top 8. Reading vs Merseyside will be trying to do the same but in the top half of the 13-20 bracket.

Matt: RGS vs Cambridge.

Upset predictions?

Smatt: I see RGS knocking out Bristol and the Herd to take their group and set themselves up with a more preferable quarter to make the top 4. Going on 2013 results this doesn’t look like an upset, but going on MT1 results I think it’s justified.Matt: RGS to beat Herd, Brighton to reach semis, Dyn-O-Mixed to get top 8.